Pickens County Closings, Delays

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Northern Georgia is preparing for round two of this multiple-front weather event. Stay with FYN for all the latest news to keep you and your families safe.6:30 a.m. Friday: There have been some accidents overnight due to refreezing on the roadways and black ice. This morning reports of icy spots are still coming in.The emergency shelter was closed at 11 p.m. last night and all power has been restored in the county. Please see the following pictures for accident information, courtesy of the Pickens County S.O.:

Above scenes from an accident at Highway 515 at Antioch Church Road.

Another accident involving a family. Minor injuries requiring transport to the hospital reported.

7:15 p.m. Thursday: There now less than 300 people without power in the county, however, for those still without the emergency shelter will remain open. Commissioner Rob Jones reported they intend to keep the shelter opened until all power is restored. Sheriff Donnie Craig said,

“If folks are without power we want them to know we have somewhere for them to go.”

If someone needs shelter they’re urged to contact the S.O. at 706-253-8908 or 706-253-8928.

At this time the EOC has been deactivated but at any time should conditions change it can be re-opened.

All county roads are in good shape but Jones cautioned that what melted off today could re-freeze overnight and the possibility of black ice is a concern.

“If people are planning to get up and go to work in the morning I’m asking them to wait for the sun to come up so any ice from overnight might have a chance to melt,”

Jones stated.

6 p.m. Thursday: Pickens County Schools will be closed Friday, February 14.

1:30 p.m.: Pickens County Government offices closed Friday for non-essential personnel.

12:55 p.m. Thursday: Cove Road is now open.

8:30 a.m. Thursday: A synopsis of current events following the snowfall overnight that exceeded predictions.

214 people without out power, from central to western Pickens.

Cove Road will remain CLOSED from Old Cove Road North to Grandview Road. The S Curves are impassible at this time. Roads throughout the county are extremely treacherous. Please only travel if you must and use extreme caution.

Trees are down all over the County. Some have brought down power lines as well. Emergency Services & Public Works are stretched to the max countywide trying to clear these problems. If you live in these affected areas, please understand we are doing everything we can to get help to you. The power companies have been working around the clock as well to restore power to these areas.

8:30 p.m. Wednesday: Cove Road has been closed due to treacherous conditions.

7:30 p.m. Wednesday: Shortly after 7 p.m. EMA Director Bob Howard reported the latest numbers look as if Pickens County may get an additional .10 inch of ice and four inches of snow overnight. He stated no roads are closed but they are watching Cove Road and Burnt Mountain Road closely as those are the most dangerous at this time.

There have been sporadic power outages throughout the county. In some places the power has repeatedly gone off and on due to the electric company workers making repairs and testing, then shutting it back off to make further adjustments. There are currently eight homes without power in the Hill City area. Even the EOC has had to make due with generators as power in Jasper has been erratic too.

The Pickens SO Auxiliary Unit has a warming shelter opened at the community center, 1329 Camp Road. Anyone without power and/or heat is urged to make use of this resource. In the event it’s necessary they are prepared to open a fully functional emergency shelter. Due to County Commissioner Rob Jones signing a state of emergency today, people are asked to continue to stay off the roadways especially with the re-freezing that will occur. Anyone needing the shelter is asked to contact the EOC at 706-253-8976.

GDOT Area Supervisor Sam Wheeler said the department has plowed and treated all state routes making them passable, but there is a considerable amount of slush on portions of roadways.

“SR 136 is very slick and hazardous on Burnt Mountain. There is 1/2″ of ice and 6″ of snow on the last three miles.”

Crews continue to be on duty through the remainder of this weather event.

Commissioner Jones reported a phone call he received from Governor Deal earlier asking if the county needs any assistance or resources. Jones told him Pickens County is holding their own for now. Deal extended direct numbers to him in case conditions change.

Jones said,

“It was very nice. I do appreciate him doing that and thinking of us in north Georgia.”

4:39 p.m.: A number of power outages have been reported in the last few minutes. Amicalola EMC shows right at 800 out of power in Pickens County, most on the western side of the county roughly an area west of Hill City Road to the western county line and north to the Gilmer County line as well. It follows a path south to Talmadge. Although not yet confirmed through Amicalola EMC, there are also several people in the city of Jasper reporting outages.

2 p.m. Wednesday: Pickens County Emergency Preparedness reports: “While some portions of Pickens County are seeing precipitation snow is expected to begin around 4:00pm with 4-6 inches until 7:00am tomorrow. With temperatures below freezing anything on the roads will freeze. Please continue to stay off the roadways if at all possible.” All county government offices will be closed Thursday.

12 p.m. Wednesday: Pickens County Schools announce there will be no school for students or staff on Thursday, February 13, 2014. Only 20 people from earlier power outages are still without electricity.

9:15 a.m. Wednesday: Trees down at Cove Road and Old Tate Mill as well as Parker and Refuge. The tree at Parker and Refuge does have power lines involved, per Pickens EOC.

6:15 a.m. Wednesday: Amicalola EMC’s website is just reporting an outage in the Bent Tree area affecting over 1,000 customers. EOC was unaware of any problems other than icy roads in the area. There are icy roads all over the county but those that are worse than others include Cove Road from Cowart to Steve Tate roads, Highway 515 from Highway 108 to Highway 372 and Monument Road. The only other report at this time is trees down on Camp Road.

As with the last storm, residents are being urged to stay off roadways as the system begins its sweep across our area.

9 p.m. Tuesday: Provided by Pickens S.O.: The National Weather Service has just completed another briefing with emergency managers throughout the state. The good news for Pickens, we appear to be well above the ice line. The bad news is that we are expecting very heavy snowfall and strong winds on Wednesday.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday:

EMA Director Bob Howard said everyone is ready to go ahead of the second system expected in the early morning hours. He said all county departments are prepared to respond regardless of the type of emergency.

“We have from 4-wheel drives to chainsaws,”

he advised.

A webinar with state officials is slated for 8:30 and changes in response and/or weather models may occur at that time. FYN will be checking back for updates.

Howard, along with other agency officials, is urging people to stay home to avoid as many weather-related accidents as possible. He also said that the public is welcome to contact the EOC for updates on the non-emergency number (706) 253-8976.

Georgia DOT Area Engineer Sam Wheeler stated there will be four people on standby in Pickens tonight to respond to any conditions that they can help clear.

Per spokesman Mohamed Arafa,

“Georgia DOT’s crews will take the opportunity to begin spreading salt & gravel mixture in advance of the storm tonight. The Department continues to urge drivers to stay off the roads in Northwest Georgia for at least one more day to give crews time to work on the roads that are expected to be covered with sheets of snow and ice if the second round of this catastrophic winter storm delivers what is expected.”

Jasper Fire Chief Steve Roper put out the following statement:

“The latest info we have from the NWS on the second system shows it hitting Pickens County around 3:00am in the morning. The forecast is for up to 7 inches of snow and up to a 1/2 inch of ice with strong gusty winds and lower temperatures than last night & today. The ice & wind are our biggest threats. These are the things that bring down trees & power lines. Once again, all city & county agencies have been working together all day planning for this second storm system. If this storm system proves to be as bad as predicted, and there are power outages, the new Pickens County Community Center on Camp Road will open as an Emergency Shelter. Once again, if it isn’t an emergency, please stay in out of this storm and off of the roads!”

Amicalola EMC is reporting no outages thus far.

Noon Tuesday, February 11: EOC (Emergency Operations Center) personnel report the roads are passable but encourage precaution. Citizens are encouraged to keep their surroundings in mind as higher elevations and steep grades will be icier.

They stated that the moisture appears to be leaving the area ahead of the secondary storm overnight.

Released from the Department of Transporation, please see the following link:

WinterweatherreleaseFeb10-2014-1.doc

Announced at 5:30 Monday: The Emergency Operations Center will be operational at 4 a.m. forward. All shelter volunteers from the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Unit are on standby until activated.

Closings/delays:

Chattahoochee Tech will open at 9 a.m. Friday, February 14.

Pickens County Government offices closed Friday, February 14, for non-essential personnel.

Pickens County Schools: Closed for staff and students on Friday, February 14.

Pickens County School District: schools closed on Thursday.

Pickens County Government Office: closed Thursday.

Chattahoochee Tech to be closed Thursday.

Pickens County School District has cancelled school on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 for students and staff.

Chattahoochee Tech will remain closed on Wednesday, February 12.

Pickens County Chamber of Commerce closed Wednesday, February 12.

Pickens County Middle School after school activities are cancelled for Monday, February 10.

Pickens County Schools will not be in session on Tuesday, February 11 for staff or students.

Chattahoochee Technical College in Jasper will close at 8:30 Monday night and be closed all day Tuesday for both students and staff.

County Offices Closed February 11 & 12, 2014

Pickens County Offices and the courthouse will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday February 11 & 12, 2014 due to the inclement weather. All essential personnel will report as scheduled.

Republican meeting for Tuesday February 11th has been cancelled.

Pickens County Chamber Membership Breakfast rescheduled – Tuesday, February 18th at 7 a.m.

Pickens County Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting for North Georgia Tax Solutions rescheduled – Tuesday, February 18th at 4:00 p.m.

Pickens County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours rescheduled – Thursday, February 20th at 4:30 p.m.

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